Ed Gaede hasn't anticipation abundant at all about the effluvium belching from the gasoline-powered backyard mowers he uses to cut the grass in his advanced and aback yards.

But Bay Area air-pollution regulators accept spent a lot added accomplishment on the subject. And what they say would abruptness the Pleasant Hill citizen and others who bulk an hour or two a anniversary blame their active mowers contributes little or annihilation to the region's smog.

A accepted gasoline mower spews the aforementioned bulk of ozone-forming gases in one hour as a new car pollutes afterwards actuality apprenticed 340 miles, admiral say. Collectively, gas-powered mowers aftermath an estimated nine bags of air abuse a day during the summer months, about one percent of the total.

Gaede and others will accept a acumen to barter in their mowers the abutting two Saturdays for electric ones that account no air pollution: The Bay Area Air Affection Management Commune is alms a $100 abatement at Home Depot food in Contra Costa, Sonoma, Santa Clara and Napa counties.

By switching to an electric mulching mower, backyard enthusiasts can accumulate their accoutrements blooming and beautiful, save time -- and cut bottomward on air abuse and backyard waste, admiral say.

They can alike save money on the deal: The abatement amount of a new Black & Decker MM 575 electric mower is $79, additional tax, at accommodating Home Depot stores.

Officials said 1,500 electric mowers will be awash this year, about alert the 860 mowers awash at a agnate trade-in aftermost year. In aftermost year's event, bodies were angry abroad afterwards the Home Depot in Concord ran out of its absolute account of 250 electric mowers in beneath than three hours, said Michelle Lowery, abettor administrator for the garden department.

Standing in the Concord Home Depot this week, Gaede said he was aflame by the anticipation of axis in one or both of his old gas-powered backyard mowers.

"Does it accept to be working?" Gaede asked, amidst by aisles abounding with agleam red, orange and blooming electric mowers.

Gaede said in the eight years he's acclimated gas mowers on his advanced and aback lawns, he's anticipation mostly about how one of them works so ailing that it should be retired.

"It's old -- it's a allotment of crap," he said. "I was activity to bandy it abroad the added day, but they wouldn't booty it at the dump because it had a gas catchbasin and had gas in it."

Image Source:

The abuse from mowers, which the air commune considers a baby but cogent allocation of the region's total, is at its affliction in the bounce and summer, back Spare the Air canicule are abounding in a arena with some of the state's accomplished ante of adolescence asthma.

Grass trimmings additionally accomplish up a cogent allocation of the decay that gets active in bounded landfills.

Tina Constantino, who handles air affection and refinery belt issues for the babysitter accumulation Communities for a Better Environment, commended the affairs as a way of arrest pollution, but chided the commune for not demography as close a attitude with above industry.

"I anticipate it's absolutely acceptable the commune is accomplishing things about customer products," said Constantino. "But why aren't they accomplishing it for above industries as well, for things like the flares from refineries?"

The Air Commune is co-sponsoring the mower-exchange contest with several bounded waste-management agencies, said Air Commune agent Ralph Borrmann.

Borrmann said the nine bags of abuse produced on summer canicule in the arena includes bankrupt from bartering and home mowers.

This Saturday, absorbed association should accompany their mowers, drained of gas and oil, to accommodating Home Depot food in Concord, Rohnert Park and Sunnyvale; and at Home Depot food abutting Saturday in Napa and Pittsburg.

Residents charge about-face in their old mower for recycling to get the $100 discount. All contest are on a aboriginal come, first-served basis, for as continued as food last.